Circuit boards are used extensively in the computer and telecommunications industries. The circuit boards provide compact surfaces for mounting and interconnecting electrical connectors and electronic components. Cables are fixedly or removably connected to the electrical connectors to provide electrical signals to components positioned on the same or different circuit boards. The printed circuit boards thus provide convenient platforms for interconnecting telecommunication or computer devices.
In one conventional installation, a circuit board is attached to a faceplate which is in turn attached to an equipment rack comprising two spaced-apart vertical support members. The faceplate and circuit board span the space between the support members and are positioned so that cables may be easily connected to connectors on either a front surface or rear surface of the circuit board. The cables are permanently or semi-permanently connected to the connectors either before or after the circuit board is secured in position to the rack. On occasion, the cables must be rerouted to different connector terminals on the same circuit board or rerouted to connectors on a different circuit board. Rerouting the cables requires that the cables be disconnected from their original connectors and reconnected to different connectors. To save time, the cables are often rerouted while the circuit board and face plate remain attached to the rack, rather than first removing the circuit board from the rack, with or without the face plate, rerouting the cables, and then reattaching the circuit board to the rack.
One drawback of conventional rack-mounted circuit boards is that the circuit boards flex and may break when cables are connected to or disconnected from the connectors positioned thereon. The circuit boards are especially likely to flex if the cables are connected to or disconnected from the circuit boards while they remain attached to the spaced apart support members of the equipment rack. A further drawback of conventional rack-mounted circuit boards is that, as they flex, they may cause electrical connections between the cables and the connectors to loosen or break, disrupting the flow of electrical signals to and from the circuit board.